Bark borer beetle

Habitat:

A bark borer of softwoods, generally found outdoors in recently dead trees, incompletely debarked logs, slabs and posts. May be found in dry wood in buildings if bark is present.

Damage characteristics:

Emergence holes are circular, 1-2 mm in diameter, in bark.

Tunnels Short, empty, mostly in bark but also scoring and penetrating sapwood.

Bore dust Not always present. Bun shaped pellets, gritty when rubbed between the fingers, mainly dark with some cream pellets as a result of feeding on sapwood.

Insect characteristics and location:

Adults 4-6 mm long, shiny reddish brown. Head partly visible from above. Long antennae, prominent hairs covering the body, no pits in wing covers. Found on or around damaged wood, May - August.

Larva Up to 6 mnm long, curved, pale cream. Three pairs of small legs. Resembles common furniture beetle but is more hairy. Found all year round in infested wood.